I am going to rent an apartment for 6 weeks and would like to be able to call home each night (morning). What is the best way to do this? I have researched some apartments that offer free calling to the US, but I haven%26#39;t been successful at one being available for my dates. One landlord said that calling cards were fairly cheap??
Any advice?
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Calling cards are indeed inexpensive.
However, the cheapest way to do this is with VoIP, or through a computer. If you are traveling with a laptop, calling another computer via internet is free, no matter where it is. Calling a US phone will cost somewhere between 1 and 2 cents a minute. Many apartments have internet available so you may want to check into it.
My recommendation is using the completely open source (free) Ekiga software.
www.ekiga.com
Another popular provider:
www.gizmoproject.com
Skype is also a popular choice but it is a closed source (for profit) choice though calling from skype user to skype user I belive is still free:
http://www.skype.com/
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Correction: To obtain free Ekiga software
http://www.ekiga.org/
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Thanks so much! Yes, I know about Skype. I have that on my computer and can have my husband and daughter set theirs up before I go. BUT, my husband is a pilot, so I need to be able to call a cell phone. Another problem with some of the calling plans in the apartments. They only can call a land line. I also need to be able to call my daughter daily and the only way to reach a teen is on their cell phone :) That is good to know about calling cards.
Do you have any advice on cell phones while we are there? I know there have been many many threads on here about different SIM cards. I have an iPhone, will there be a place I can go where I can get a different SIM card to use my phone more economically there? I will only be using it as an emergency source of calling, but wondered what is the best thing to do?
Thanks for any advice??
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I found that the calling cards they sell at Fat Tire Bike Tours in the 7th were easy to use and very inexpensive.The ones I got at the Tobac shop were confusing for me anyway.
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Thanks! I know exactly where that is!
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%26lt;%26lt;%26lt;I need to be able to call a cell phone.%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;
Using VoIP and an prepaid account with one of the entities (or another) suggested above will allow you to call a land line or cell phone. The plans usually work like this:
1. prepay $10 with paypal (even using a credit card)
2. calls are deducted from your account at approximately 2 cents a minute of usage. $10 is a lot of 2 cent time.
%26lt;%26lt;%26lt;Another problem with some of the calling plans in the apartments. They only can call a land line.%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;
These are for calling French land lines. The reason is because under the French cell phone pricing structure, calls to cell phones cost 10x more than a call to a land line. You will probably be calling very few French cell phones.
%26lt;%26lt;Do you have any advice on cell phones while we are there?%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;
Pages and pages have been written on this forum about this. It all depends upon how/who you will be calling. I make and receive a large number of calls to/from within France with I am there so I have an unlocked GSM phone and a SIM with a French provider (Virgin).
Information about various plans may be found here:
http://www.prepaidgsm.net/en/france.html
%26lt;%26lt;%26lt;I have an iPhone, will there be a place I can go where I can get a different SIM card to use my phone more economically there?%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;
I believe these phones are locked. You will probably not be able to change the SIM. You can purchase an unlocked, GSM phone on eBay for under $50 (quad band phones are optimal due to the various world frequency usage).
%26lt;%26lt;%26lt;I will only be using it as an emergency source of calling, but wondered what is the best thing to do?%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;
In this case, contact your provider (AT%26amp;T I believe) and have them activate international roaming (specifically for France). You will be able to receive calls just as though you were in the US except you%26#39;ll pay an additional $1-$2 per minute (check with your provider for details but this is fine for emergency usage). Of course, if your French neighbor wants to call you, he%26#39;ll need to dial a US number to reach you.
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No, I don%26#39;t imagine I will be calling many cell phones in France :)
Thank you for the other links. I will look into those.
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if you need to call your husband on his cell phone, to the previous post, use skype or any other VOIP solution to do this.
Using (int)ernational roaming will incur costs on both you and your husbands phone. Also, AT%26amp;T has separate int costs for %26#39;voice int roaming%26#39;, int SMS texting and int internet access.
IMO the int price structure for AT%26amp;T is a joke - the fact they have independent rates and billing for voice, texting and internet from the phone.
If you have a scheduled time - use a VOIP solution with a U.S. handoff - no cost to your cell phone and a good chance of no cost to your husbands phone.
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I spent a lot of time researching this before my trip in September and I ended up choosing to buy a calling card once I got to Paris because the other options seemed like too much of a hassle. It worked out great--I was amazed at how much time was covered by the card, which I think cost about 8E (it was the least expensive one offered at the tabac where I bought it). The first time I used it, it announced that the call duration available was something like 7 hours!
Interestingly, it covered much less time when I was using it to call local numbers than when I used it to call the US.
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I just got back from Paris after a month%26#39;s stay in an apartment. I bought a prepaid phone card from a tabac shop for 7,50 euros and it has a very high number of minutes, most of which I never used. Sorry I can%26#39;t recall the number of minutes. Once you use the card for the first time, it will expire in 3 months. The terms are on the back of the card. If are going to Paris before Jan. 15 and you want to send me a private message, I would be glad to send you my barely used card.
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